Look: Christophe Dugarry at Blues

As the months unfolded Dugarry began to turn in a string of high-quality performances and inevitably the goals followed - starting at home to Sunderland on April 12.

That began a sequence of five in four games as Blues exorcised their fears of relegation and strode, with a Gallic swagger, to 13th place in the Premier League.

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That convinced Blues to offer the veteran a two-year contract and in truth the magic was never recreated. He left after just one of those seasons and barely played again.

Dugarry’s golden period lasted only a few months but it was so golden, his brace and all-round performance against Southampton in April 2003, is still regarded as one of the best ever by a Birmingham player. It has gone down in club history.